I recently got a racket that had some old head tape and when I peeled it off it left some gunk on the frame. Does anyone know the best way to clean it up without damaging the racket

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Rubbing alcohol from a drugstore, with a textured cloth of some sort, and lots of "elbow grease." If it is super gummy, it'll take quite a bit of time and effort. Some say WD-40 or (Ronsonol) lighter fluid is good for removing adhesive residue, but I stick with rubbing alcohol.

Rubbing alcohol from a drugstore, with a textured cloth of some sort, and lots of "elbow grease." If it is super gummy, it'll take quite a bit of time and effort. Some say WD-40 or (Ronsonol) lighter fluid is good for removing adhesive residue, but I stick with rubbing alcohol.

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WD-40 will work. I've used it removing residue off of old labels and getting gum of off shoes (unfortunate). I would recommend that you thoroughly wipe the areas down after the residue is removed though.

Some old head tape can be really difficult to get off whatever you use. Ironically the biggest problem i've had has been with masking tape, as if you take it off immediately, zero residue; but if left on for a few years, it seems to bond with the paintwork sometimes, and just will not budge using any known solvent!

Cheers, I must admit one thing I havn't tried is steam, but when using that for other things have to remember to be careful, as easy to burn yourself using steam.

I can get the masking tape off in little pieces, once it has been on for years, but the residue it leaves is ridculously difficult to remove sometimes without damaging the paint underneath, and should add only certain types of paint are affected. The best solution is prevention, so please nobody leave masking tape on their rackets for a long period of time!

A toothbrush and alchohol or even soapy water work great for getting in and around the grommets to get the dirt out. If you want to clean the frame while strung you need to get a bottle brush or a gun barrel cleaning brush (plastic brissled not brass).

Careful with stuff like goof of because it can remove the clear coat on some frames. Especially if your rubbing hard.

If you have a frame with a rubberized coating ala prince warrior, gamma 9.0 etc you need to be really careful what you use and even how you store the racquets as the ruberized coating does not hold up over time and gets sticky and messy.

You can also use painters tape for head guard protection. It does not leave a residue and does a good job of protecting the frame if you put a couple layer on. Its also easy to find and reativly cheap. The colors kind of stink though for some frames.

Painters tape might be a viable option for some though as I have seen head guard tape pull paint off vintage frames pretty regularly. Its not a huge deal to me as I tend to play with my frames but if someone has a rather mint vintage racquet and just has to git it a light hit painters tape might be worth a try.